Brothers Matt and Scott Thomas have always known the life of a working musician. Their father led a local Greenville, NC-based group called Jerry Thomas and the Thomas Brothers Band, and they started playing with him as teenagers. In 2001, the brothers set off on their own to start Parmalee. It took years for the country group to take off commercially—but bigger pastures were certainly ahead. 

After four releases and years on a small label, Parmalee made its first national splash with a chart-topping country radio song called "Carolina" in 2012 and a Billboard charting record called Feels Like Carolina the year after. Now they’re wrapping up their second record, but their focus is still the same: writing good, relatable songs and touring all year long. 

Before the CMT Music Awards earlier this month, we chatted with front man Matt Thomas about his musical upbringing, being in a touring band with his brother and what to expect on the next Parmalee record.

How did Parmalee come together?

We started the band in 2001. We’ve just been spending a long time building an original fan base. We actually really started playing as kids with my dad and his band. We traveled around the region for about 10 years before we got a record deal. That was 2011 and here we are today. It’s pretty crazy.

How do you think your small town North Carolina origins influenced the music that you make? 

I think it definitely influences everything. Just the way you grow up, the people you’re around, the characters you meet, the way people talk, the music everybody in the region listens to, all that definitely has a bearing on music and our sound and the way we phrase things.

What kind of music were you listening to growing up? 

My dad was a musician. I listened to a lot of what he had going on. He was into southern rock and soul and blues and country. We were influenced by everything: pop, rock, all kinds of stuff. But our first introduction to music was through him and he was a mix between Greg Allman, Bob Seger… he was a singer. 

Was there pressure for you to play music?

Oh, no. No pressure at all. It was just for fun. That’s why everybody did it back then—for fun.

So what’s it like being in a touring band with your brother?

It’s fine. We get along probably better than most siblings do. We’re just trying to work—just trying to survive, survive for our families. We’ve [had] pretty much backbreaking jobs our whole lives. The idea now is to just keep things going—to just be happy we’re out here, you know. 

How did “Carolina” come together?

We actually wrote that song in 2007. It’s just an idea that we had. We had been out in California and I got back to North Carolina. I just had that thought—the studio reminded me of California but I knew that I was home… We’re always gone from everybody all of the time. We’re just constantly on the road and we’re never there for anything most days. Reunions and things. That’s kind of how it came about.

Did you have idea that it would be so successful?

No, we didn’t. When we first heard the first mix of it, we felt like we had found our sound but you never know what the journey will be. There’s no way to tell.

And so you put your first album, Feels Like Carolina, out in 2013 and then you guys were doing a lot of touring?

Yeah, we’ve been on the road since, pretty much. We’ve been on the road nonstop. 

Do you like touring?

I love it. I love being on the road. I love being on the road more than I do being home—and when I’m home, I’m usually in the studio writing.

What’s the story behind your new single “Roots”?

It’s a song about your roots: all of the things you go through growing up, but those things never leave you no matter where you go in life. Actually, one of our good friends is a songwriter on that. He sent it to us and we heard it. We were just blown away by the lyrics and how it related to us. I feel like anybody that moves away from home in a totally different environment. There’s some part of growing up—some part of all of the things that you experience in life. You take that stuff and away you go.

Do you think that you’re writing about similar types of things on the upcoming album versus the first one?

There’s all kinds of things—all kinds of titles. We’re trying to make sure that we touched on the different aspects. It’s not just girl songs or relationship songs, there’s all kinds of different titles. It’s been fun to work on. We try to make sure that we took notice of that and not have all girl songs.

If you had the choice, would you want lots of songs about girls?

Well most of them are anyway. They always are. You know, you write about what comes to mind—what hits you. Whether it’s about a girl or whether it’s about something else.

Where are you in the process of the second album?

We’re wrapping it up. We’ll probably have one more recording session and that’ll be it as far as now. But I mean in Nashville, you never know. You just have to keep writing and stay on it.

Your sound is very much in the vein of modern country. How do you think popular country music is doing these days and what do you think will happen in the future? 

It’s just going to evolve. It’s great, man. It’s really cool to see what’s going on. There’s so many types of people here writing and country’s huge. I’m excited to see where it’s going. You never know. It’s just wide open.

What should people expect on the new album?

It’s definitely progressive—more progressive than the last record. We’re using a lot more tools to make the music. We’re trying to do more upbeat songs. At its core, it’s guitars and harmonies. That’s our thing. We make sure that we make guitars and harmonies up front.

Will it come out this year?

We plan on it coming out later on this year.

And then what are you most excited for this year?

Yeah. We’re playing some songs at the shows, so we’re excited about them. Yeah, just ready to get the album out so people can have a little taste and kind of know the songs when we play them. 

And then you’ll spend some time touring?

Yeah, we’re wrapped up throughout the whole year, man. We’ll just keep touring and stay on the road.

In a perfect world, what would you be doing in a year? 

Playing music for a living. That’s the ultimate goal. We’ll have this new album out and be back on the road.